Reporter's Notebook: One Face From Tahrir Square, Cairo
CAIRO, Feb. 3, 2011— -- As so many people tried to get out of Egypt this week, we traveled to Cairo Tuesday on a nearly empty flight.
In the back of the plane, there was a young man from Texas who'd told his university professors that he just had to get home.
"I have some family there, and I want to check on grandma," Sherief Gaber said.
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When our plane landed, Gaber asked us for a ride from the airport, explaining that he had tried to get word to his grandmother and wasn't even sure if she knew he was coming.
On the highway into town, we passed lone cars braving the streets well past curfew time. There were flashing lights, and then the stops -- checkpoints enforced by a citizen's army that had taken hold here.
Neighbors have armed themselves with guns and bats, stopping cars to check IDs and passports.
"I think everyone got afraid of the looting, and so they took to the streets themselves," Gaber said.
"You've never seen anything like this?" I asked him.
"Never, anywhere," he said.
We were stopped more than a dozen times before we finally reached Gaber's grandmother's home. We followed Gaber as he made his way through a familiar iron gate and pressed the buzzer.
"Nonna? It's Sherief," he said.
As we made our way up the stairs, frightened neighbors began shouting from their balconies: Who are you, and who are you here to see?
When we reached Gaber's grandmother's door, she saw her grandson and greeted him with a giant hug. She welcomed the crew from America into her house, too.
Just a short time later, our visit was interrupted by a man who barged in carrying a gun. It was a neighbor, checking up on the grandmother.
